


Tears Under The Sea

by MSiLeT



Category: Aquaman (2018)
Genre: Angst, Aquaman spoiler, F/M, Focused on Orm and Mera's history, Just me wanting to write about my boy Orm, Past Relationship(s), but Mera is with Arthur now, post Aquaman (2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 03:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17154824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MSiLeT/pseuds/MSiLeT
Summary: Mera visits Orm in prison a few days after the events of Aquaman. They talk about their past and future.





	Tears Under The Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Even though I don't ship this pair, I think it can make interesting stories. After a chat with 2 other friends, I came up with this short story between Orm and Mera.

Three days after the battle. Three days after Orm was thrown into this sterile white cell with almost no edges and had one side being a see-through glass wall. What did they think he would do? He might have asked Arthur to kill him out there, but that was different because it meant dying in battle, which was considered honourable. Here? No, he would tough it out in here. Even if "toughing it out" meant lying on his back, staring at the eerie light sources most of the day. What was their nefarious plan? Bore him to death?

Mother had been down here to talk to him every day, which had been the highlights of his stay. He didn't say much to her, preferring to hear the sound of her voice. He was secretly glad that she chose to give him the time of day, however, despite Arthur needing her help with adapting to his new role. Arthur probably had Vulko and Mera at his beck and call to help him with that. Arthur beat Orm in battle, fair and square, but that didn't mean he had to _like_ the result. Orm was trained to be king since he was a child, and Arthur... If what he was told was right, couldn't lead himself out of the bottom of a bottle. In the end, only time would tell what kind of a king Arthur would be and if he would run Atlantis deeper into the ground. Although, he hoped that Arthur would ask him for help before that happened. After all, Orm's duty was to Atlantis, and he would serve it under any circumstances. He didn't think that Mera would let things go so far, either, after what happened.

Talk about Mera...

She just arrived outside his cell and was now looking at him, with none of the soldiers following her. He still acted like he didn't notice her. As if. He would have been a bottom rank soldier if his environmental awareness was that bad. He wondered why she even came here. To gloat? To say "I told you so?" By Atlan, he felt tired of all this ridiculousness and just wanted to go back to sleep. He lost, so what?

"Orm?"

No reply.

"Orm!"

He finally smirked and slightly turned his head toward her. His smile was fake, and he only looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Princess Mera, beautiful as ever. Or is it Queen Mera now? Should I offer my congratulations?"

"Orm, please."

He hummed noncommittally and waited for her to say what was on her mind and then get lost, while still looking mostly at the lights.

She did not.

He sighed and sat up to face her, his back against the wall. "Say whatever you came here to say or go away," he cocked his head.

"I..." Mera hesitated. She looked like she hadn't planned what to say to him before coming, which irked him more. "I am sorry for hitting you during the trial," she finished lamely.

Orm snorted. "You are not." He said the next sentence before he could rein it in and remain silent. "I saw you, you know? Kissing him that day."

"I-"

"You don't need to explain anything, Mera," He shrugged, "You don't need my blessing either, as long as you are happy."

This flipped a switch inside Mera. He could feel the rage start flowing inside her. He used to find her magnificent when she was like this. He still did. "You don't get to say that, Orm. You tried to kill me! Twice!"

He tried to control his temper, but that was never something he was good at. "What do you expect me to do? You betrayed your king and kingdom, rescuing a criminal! Killing you immediately would have been mercy! I didn't want a trial to condemn you to the same fate as my mother's! Did you honestly think they wouldn't demand it, even in the presence of your father?"

"I have been to the Trench," she said stubbornly.

"Good for you. I don't suppose you want a pat on the back? I fear you'd have to get it from someone else, as I can't reach you." He knew it was petty, but at this point, he was past caring.

Mera deflated and sighed. "Orm, please. I just want to talk. I know I betrayed your trust. I'm sorry."

Orm laughed bitterly, turned away and closed his eyes. He didn't want to look at her right now. "When I was planning all this, I did it meticulously. I tried to foresee all possibilities, including me failing and getting imprisoned or killed. Yet, I was still wrong. In every one of those failed scenarios, you would still be with me. You would be the last face I would look at before they throw me to the creatures of the Trench."

They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Orm decided that if she could show herself in, she could show herself out.

"How did you become like this?" Her voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Planning vengeance, deaths and destruction as if it was nothing. How did you become so filled with hatred, Orm? We grew up together! The Orm I knew was a sweet, caring boy. I remember the first time we-"

"DO NOT TALK ABOUT THAT!" Orm shouted. He was sure that the guards would have come in and restrained him for threatening the queen. No one showed up.

"You were tender and considerate, you were so afraid that you'd hurt me-"

"I. Said. Do. Not. Mention. It." He gritted his teeth.

"Why? Afraid to face who you used to be?" Mera challenged. Orm sighed, couldn't she see this was for her own good?

"You are with the True King of Atlantis now. My loyalty is to Atlantis, and by extension, its _King"_ He left the words "Even if he stole the title from me" unspoken. "There is no use talking of the past. It's better if we both forget about it." He said, trying to believe his own lie.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because Mera was furious. "That's all it was? A duty? Was I just property of a King? Was that all I was to you, so easily forgotten? After all we've been through together, I expected at least-"

"YOU WERE EVERYTHING TO ME!" He turned around abruptly, fire in his usually icy blue eyes. _Well shit_ , he didn't mean to say it, let alone yelled the words out loud.

"No, power was everything to you. I haven't mattered to you for a long time, Orm. You don't need to lie to me anymore." Mera said, both anger and sadness laced together in her voice. The woman knew how to hurt. _You want a fight? You want the truth? Fine._

"Why do you think I want all this power?" Orm grounded the words out indignantly. "I wanted to prove myself worthy to you! Even when I became king, I was still a pretender. And then the surface world threatened our home more and more. I didn't want you to be the Queen of Ruins, the wife of The King Who Failed Atlantis." He raised his voice, impassioned. "I was out there, I saw what those surface dwellers did to our kind! I saw what they did to their own kind, even from down here! I had to do something! I didn't want to put the burden on you, but you became more and more distant, so I threw myself into my plans, hoping one day you'd see the result and be pleased." He paused, the wind suddenly, completely taken out of his sails. "You went searching for Arthur, instead."

"You have to understand that it was necessary, I wanted to prevent bloodshed. I didn't want Atlanteans to die needlessly in your quest for revenge! I didn't plan to run away with him."

"Or falling in love with him?" Orm smiles sadly. "It all turned out well for you in the end."

"Orm, I am sorry."

Orm held up his hand and shook his head. "No, Mera. _I_ am sorry, even if my apology isn't worth a damn thing now. I hope Arthur will treat you better than I ever did. You deserve to be happy. No, I _know_ you will be."

Mera was quiet for a long time and Orm turned his attention back to the bright light. After a while, she said, "What about you?"

Orm smirked and gestured at the jail cell wryly.

"You know what I mean, Orm," she rolled her eyes exasperatedly. He used to find her adorable when she did that. He should stop noticing those things.

He paused to consider. It has only been three days, he wasn't even sure if Arthur would change his mind and sentence him to death yet, let alone thinking about _the future_. " _IF_ I ever get out of here, I will spend time with my mother.  _If_ they ever let me serve Atlantis again, it will be my honour to fully dedicate myself to this kingdom." _And if Arthur is an incompetent fool, then I will challenge him again._

When he heard Mera sigh, he tried to smile and added, "Don't worry, Mera. Go live your life. Be with your true love. Forget about me." Once again, he turned around and showed his back to her, indicating that the conversation was over.

"That boy back then. I loved him, you know?" He heard her voice, so low that he thought it was a fragment of his imagination at first. It would not do.

"He died. Go away, Mera. GUARDS! IN HERE!" The guards rushed in immediately. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because of how much they are used to obeying him or because he was a high-risk prisoner. "Please show my guest out, I'm tired," he said, not bothering to turn around. He waited silently until he was sure that everyone left.

It was a good thing you could not see tears under the sea.


End file.
